SYDNEY/Reuters – Australia’s relations will continue to be difficult with China, Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia said Tuesday. He was speaking amid reports that China’s premier had congratulated Labor for its victory at the weekend’s election.

Australia’s largest trading partner China is causing tension. They have clashed on a variety of issues such as trade and origins of the coronavirus. Australia has also accused China of political interference.

Marles said that while Australia is aware of the complexity of this relationship, China seeks to influence the world’s future in ways it has never seen before.

“All that I see is going to make this a very challenging path forward.”

Anthony Albanese was elected Australia’s 31st Prime Minister on Monday. He said that the bilateral relationship will remain “a challenging one” as he headed to Tokyo for the Quad Summit with Joe Biden, the U.S. president, and prime ministers from Japan and India.

In Beijing, The Quad is an informal security organisation that aims to challenge China’s influence over the Indo-Pacific.

According to Xinhua, the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sent a congratulatory note Monday to Albanese for his victory in election. This could have ended a two year-old Chinese diplomatic embargo on Australia.

Marles claimed he had not received any communication from Beijing.

Labor was able to return to power because of the support from the Greens and other climate-focused independents. This helped them defeat the conservative Liberal National coalition.

After Scott Morrison’s resignation as Prime Minister of the party, Peter Dutton, the former Defence Minister was being considered as a favourite leader for Liberals. Local media reported that Dutton is now the favorite.

Votes are still being counted and Labor leads on 75 seats, one short of the majority. Analysts predict that Labor will win enough seats to be able to run the country on its own.